impound
Americanverb (used with object)
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to shut up in a pound or other enclosure, as a stray animal.
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to confine within an enclosure or within limits.
water impounded in a reservoir.
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to seize and retain in custody of the law, as a document for evidence.
noun
verb
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to confine (stray animals, illegally parked cars, etc) in a pound
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to seize (chattels, etc) by legal right
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to take possession of (a document, evidence, etc) and hold in legal custody
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to collect (water) in a reservoir or dam, as for irrigation
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to seize or appropriate
Other Word Forms
- impoundable adjective
- impoundage noun
- impounder noun
- unimpounded adjective
Etymology
Origin of impound
Explanation
To impound something is to legally take it away from its owner. The police might impound your car if you were parked in front of a fire hydrant. Sometimes a city will impound a driver's car after they've accumulated many unpaid parking tickets. Another reason to impound someone's vehicle is because they haven't been making their loan payments — in a case like this, the bank that holds the loan might impound the car. A second meaning of impound is to shut an animal inside an enclosure or pound.
Vocabulary lists containing impound
Born a Crime
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"Piracy Bites!" and "Doonesbury on Downloading"
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Henry V
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“One of my clients was trying to get his car back, and that was costing, I think, around $4,000 because there’s a $1,200 impound fee plus $600 per day that they held it,” said Goldman.
From Salon • Mar. 4, 2026
Our mortgage and impound account is about $2,450 a month on this property.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 12, 2026
Jones said, “We’re trying to wrap this scene as fast as possible. We may even process him” at the police impound lot.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025
The city of Hermosa Beach enacted an emergency ordinance in June 2024 that set new rules for juvenile e-bikers and gave police the authority to impound the bikes of unsafe riders.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025
They know it's gonna be hard to get that car out of impound.
From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
